Ashes to Dust by Yrsa SigurðardóttirMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thirty years after the volcanic eruption on Heimaey (the only populated island of Iceland's Westman Archipelago) the archeologists excavating the homes that had been buried in ash.....discovered three corpses and a discrete head, in the basement of a house belonging to one Markus Magnusson. Mr Magnusson enlists the help of his attorney, Thora Gudmundsdottir, whose lot in life seems to be the defense of eccentric clients. Markus, already a suspect in the death of a childhood friend, is also a master of the Tall Tale...and the one he spins is full of family secrets and/or outright lies..
Needless to say this story is complex..full of the aforementioned secrets and lies...fear of social stigma...sexual perversion and inadequacy...the whole boiling stew that makes for a good murder story. And it is that...with just enough of Thora's personal life thrown in to make the reader aware her life outside murder, mayhem and the Law...
However, I found the comparison to Steig Larsson's MILLENIUM TRILOGY a little off putting. I saw more of P D James' Adam Dalgliesh, and that series of police procedurals, visible here...Liz Salander is nowhere to be found in this book (though Thora's PA is a bit of a Goth Girl)....and the thrills are kept to a dull roar. Our Thora may no be glamourous, but she's a decent detective/lawyer
Recommended for mystery buffs and those who enjoy their ScandiCrime with more brains than brawn.
I haven't read any other of Ms Sigurdardottir's work, so I don't know how this book compares to her other titles
4 Stars
**This was a Net Galley**
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